#bhaal

Bhaal likes gold. He loves his luxuries and wealth:

'...Tell folk that gold proffered to the church can make the Lord of Murder overlook them for today.'

‘Several Deathbringers have managed to become city rulers or the heads of city law-keeping forces- and their minions now stalk the streets slaying undesirables and rivals to increase their wealth and tighten their rule. Increasingly, Deathbringers seek positions where they can live comfortably, make lots of coin, and kill often with few consequences.’

"Such pride is undeserved, great predator, when your whole being is borrowed. Credit where it is due, and dues where payment is demanded."

"Profit is the oldest reason for killing, yet it's alive and well. None are better at it than kings."

'...in the darkest dead of night, at least once a tenday, properly clad as a Bhaalist, they murder their target, and “take home” some token or trophy (from a finger or heart of their victim, to personal jewelry), plus wealth from the victim if available. The token or trophy is offered to Bhaal...'

'...were also to pray when giving gold to Bhaalists (to ensure that the Lord of Murder accepted their gift) and whenever a violent death occurred nearby or to someone related to them.'

"Lord Bhaal, the poison that quack sold me was not effective diluted in the ale. Writhing failure of a slave that I am, I offer all of the gouted landlord's gold, grifted from deviants in their excess. I pray only it can fund a mighty homicide, and one day my corpse may sip on gall-goblets with you, in your domain."

Suddenly, Bhaal ensuring that Durge grew up in poverty makes so much more sense.

It's not only about making sure they learn to fend for themselves and are hardened from childhood; it's also about luring them towards him with promises of wealth and of not having to fear going hungry again.

A Durge, especially a young one, would very much find the promises of riches alluring, if only to make sure that they wouldn't have to live on scraps. A child who grew up with little is suddenly given the possibility to amass gold and other trinkets. Suddenly, they get the opportunity to purchase more than just the most necessary things to survive without having to double-check whether or not they can afford such things.

And if we consider the fact that Bhaal, as a mortal, was most likely of Talfiric origin, meaning he grew up in a simple fishing village (the very same where Baldur's Gate now stands), and then dashed off to become a Spymaster and Chief Assassin, does fit with his whole talk about 'aquiring wealth through killing and then hoarding it (offering it to him)'. His own followers, especially Deathbringers, are supposed to acquire wealth. That's not what you would expect from a Murder Cult, especially compared to Malar's cult (who is also very much in the business of killing):

'...Black Blood cultists often eschew material goods, gold, and the fineries of civilized life...'

Bhaal, growing up in poorer conditions, only to then exult in the riches he acquired through murder, explains why he cares so much about it. Also, he very much does act like a greedy bastard who will take the side of whoever pays him more (Bane's treasuries must be empty by now):

'What is murder if not the most violent of deaths, seized by Bhaal in his incessant greed?'

Greed for what? Blood, gold, or both? He is the patron of assassins - of professional, hired killers. Every murder contract makes his clergy and him wealthier.

He also has this whole theme going on where he acts like royalty, despite having been born a peasant (I always wanted to call him that).

I mean, even Jergal calls him out on it. At least it once was in the game files for the original bad ending of Durge (I am pissed that this line never made its way into the game):

"...the madman in kings-clothing."

Bhaal acting like a self-made man gets obvious the closer we look:

'Cespenar was Bhaal’s quartermaster and armorer (making, repairing, and in some cases procuring from others armor for Bhaal’s guards and household; he also saw to metal tools, flatware, and pots and pans). Loyal to Bhaal and without personal ambitions; the perfect “strong, ready right hand.' (Cepsenar is also his personal butler)

I mean, I never read anything about other gods having a personal household. Why, tf, does he need pots and pans? Do other gods have them as well? Butlers, so far, seem to be a Bhaal-only thing. At least for now (I don't put them past Bane, Myrkul, and Waukeen either. Malar, definitly, doesn't have them).

Orin and Durge also get Butlers (Cruor and Sceleritas), and at least Sceleritas speaks about/to Durge as if they were born into royalty:

"But why come to the Master's estate without them?"

"The royal Itch, the regal Tingle, the unending Thirst. Oh, I adore them so."

"We are unfortunate bunkmates, as she refuses to leave your estate!"

"Oh, Master, Master, MASTER! You have come home to your royal dwelling!"

"Lady Orin told me not to let you in, but I'd never listen to the pretender to your fetid throne."

"How dare you so much as whisper the name of that serf, that watery-blooded peasent who pretends to bear the Lords name?" (In regards to Orin)

"One with such base manners is certainly unwelcome in my Liege's home." (speaking like a peasant)

"This is simply a matter of royal principle. We hesr of a darling thing shining a light in the darkness? We kill her!"

"Peasents love grovling afore those with good breeding. The shameful poor Isobel wants to die by your royal hand."

"...I shall attend to your miserable royal person with great care..."

It's amusing that Sceleritas keeps pointing out that Durge should 'dress in a manner befitting their station', while Bhaal himself tends to run around with nothing more than a loincloth:

"...Why do you degrade yourself wearing the shameful hatpiece of a mere servant? It's an honour to see you look so fetching, but let me dress you properly on the morrow."

"Oh, you must be more of our dire Liege's servants. You are dressed in attire demonstrating respect for the Master."

"...I see you are dressed in my rainment... You should take it off, though. It would be improper to meet Lord Bhaal in the garb of a lowly servant."

I mean, while Bhaal, according to Sceleritas, does seem to think that wandering the world in the shape of a giant monster equals wearing royal attire, he also keeps running around with a handkerchief. I am not joking:

'Bhaal always carries a red handkerchief somewhere on his manifested form.'

I'd also like to point out that 'red' is a rather forbidden color in his faith and yet a holy color of Bane. Apparently, just like Gortash gifted Durge 'Stillmaker', Bane gifted Bhaal this Handkerchief (this is a purely self-indulgent add-on to my ramble).

Gortash: "Here, I made this dagger for you."

Durge: "Cool, I shall- It's green. A banite color."

Gortash: "But it has your fathers symbol."

Durge: "It's green."

Gortash: "If you don't want it, give it back."

Durge: "NO."

...

Bane: "Here, I got this for you."

Bhaal: "A king always needs his handkerchief. I will gladly- Why is it red?"

Bane: "...Because you like blood?"

Bhaal: "Tell me the truth."

Bane: "Enjoy :)"

Bhaal: "Come back here!"

Walking around naked or in the form of a monster is fine, but Ao forbid Durge wants to wear a silly hat.

Anyway, Bhaal acting like royalty (because he, probably, also grew up in rather poor conditions (seems to me like he really, really, really doesn't want to be reminded of that fact)) certainly puts weight on the whole inheritance thing Sceleritas keeps talking about.

At least Durge, unlike Bhaal, still grasps how hard it can be to have nothing. Bhaal seems to have forgotten that:

"There was one time you gave a beggar some coin while we were en route to the Devil's Fee. You didn't kick him or spit on him or anything! I was so shocked I almost fainted!"

Before Durge got infected by a tadpole, if Helsik is to be believed, they also didn't want to be perceived as poor:

Durge: "It's customary for any salesperson to offer a free sample."

Helsik: "The first hit's free, eh? My, you have changed. Fine. Just this once."

Summary of Bhaal's weird obsession with gold:

Bhaal: "You want me or my clergy to kill someone? Pay me. You don't want me or my clergy to kill someone? Pay me. You want my or my clergies protection from another threat? Pay me, peasent."

It certainly explains why Bhaal wants his followers to cozy up to the rich and powerful people of the world. He needs money. And who better to give it to him than those who hoard it?

Also explains why he gets along with 'Mr. I am better than everyone, Myrkul'. Myrkul is, after all, a former crown-prince. I am surprised that he hasn't considered an alliance with Waukeen. On the other hand, he would have to do paperwork to keep track of every financial decision, and everyone knows he has enough of that already. He has his own kingdom to run, and serving Bane comes with drawbacks: Bane is, as Ethel accurately puts it, lazy. He probably lets Bhaal handle his paperwork as well. Bhaal doesn't need any more of that.

Anyway, the statement Bhaal makes by letting Durge grow up in poverty is something along the lines of 'I pulled you from the streets and gave you everything you could ever desire. Better obey my every whim, child. You don't wanna end up on the streets again, do you?'.

Ketheric and Myrkul are the two old necromancers who are rather tired of their allies shenanigans (especially Ketheric, somebody save that poor man).

Gortash and Bane are the former slaves who cling to every ounce of control they can get their hands on (and make heart-eyes at their favourite assassin while they are at it).

The first Mother-Goddess he managed to piss off was Chauntea, the primordial goddess of agriculture (who was once far more wild and settled down to make sure that her children (mortals) have an easier life (farming, homesteads etc.) and also begged for the sun to be created, so that life could begin to exist), who you really shouldn't mess with. She is also Lathander's wife.

Yeah.

An aspect of Chauntea (the Earthmother, who is also regarded as the personificstion if the Moonshae Isles) helped kill the shapeshifting monstrosity 'Kazgaroth' (in the Moonshae triology he is an aspect of Malar and a servant of Bhaal (Bhaal runs around as the Ravager), in Halls of Heroes both Kazgaroth and the Ravager are Bhaal's Avatars, and somewhere else was said (I think in Realms Secreteriat) that Kazgaroth IS the Ravager... complicated).

Anyway. Bhaal got pretty pissed off about the fact that Kazgaroth was destroyed (it doesn't even matter whether or not it was his Avatar because he always gets angry when anyone dares lay a hand on his servants and allies), and decided that for this offense against him every living thing on the Isles had to be obliberated.

Well, after figuring out that it was the Earthmother who had helped kill Kazgaroth (he seems somewhat ignorant about the fact that this is an aspect of Chauntea) he murdered her. Did anyone expect something else?

Moving on.

Way later Chauntea had her revenge. And when I say she took revenge I actually mean to say that she absolutely whooped his ass. Bhaal got the crap beaten out of him for ever daring to lay a finger on her children (both the mortals and the guardians of the Isles she had created). That man got so roughed up he couldn't even move after she (and the mortals she guided) were done with him:

'Here he lay in broken despair... motionless... Thus he would lie for generations...'

I mean, he is still my favourite deity but he did have it coming...

Also, I find it very funny that Chauntea, the ever-patient goddess, one of the most ancient gods that exist, who loves to tend to flowers and pet little animals, looked at Bhaal fucking everything up and decided that, perhaps, kindness wasn't the answer here.

Bhaal, compared to Chauntea, is a literal infant. He is somewhat 1400 years old and Chauntea was there before Toril even existed. She is 30.000+ years old. And he still decided that it was a good idea to piss her off (as Jergal so accurately puts it: he is imprecise in his wrath (and he was pissed about Kazgaroth's demise)).

The whole ordeal can be summarized by the image of a little, unruly child trying to square up to an old grandmother (who also happens to be a former MMA-fighter), only to end up getting dragged kicking and screaming back to his home by the ear.

The second mother-goddess he managed to make angry was Selune. To be precise: the aspect of Selune called Bright Nydra.

Selune is, as most probably now, the Moonmother who is also, sometimes, credited with having created lycanthropy. Furthermore, she is a goddess associated with guidance and pregnancy.

As if pissing off Chauntea wasn't bad enough, he also decided that going after the even more powerful and more ancient deity was a splendid idea (I would also like to add that he was far weaker here than he was when he tried to mess with Chauntea).

Which, as everyone can guess, didn't end well for him either.

We don't know exactly when they clashed with one another, but we do know that it happened sometime during the Time of Troubles. It's said that Bhaal was pursuing Midnight (the mortal that would become the Mystra seen in Bg3) just after having escaped his amber-prison in High Horn (the image of Bhaal stuck in amber is still something I hope to see illustrated one day (they also made a ceiling crash down upon him and slammed doors in his face (you wanna survive Bhaal? Run away and slam every door shut behind you))).

Anyway, the battle between the aspect of Selune and the Avatar of Bhaal took place at the River Reaching, near the Farsea Marshes, which Bhaal sought to cross to catch Midnight and claim one of the Tablets of Fate.

Their battles (apparently they had multiple clashes with each other) were described as 'relentless'. During the one where Nydra beat him up, she actually drove him out of the Marshes (which I imagine as him running away with his tail between his legs, so to speak). Given that later, during the events of Bg3, he has his eyes set on Isobel (and even grants Durge the Slayer-form when Shadowheart kills Aylin despite having done nothing themselves, I assume he is giddy about the fact that Selune lost her daughter and is in a good enough mood to grant them the slayer (I also think he hates both Aylin and Isobel because he got wrecked by Selune more than a 100 years prior)).

Also, Bhaal was known to the inhabitants of the Marshes as Bale, and in one version of Bhaal's backstory, he was known as 'Tharlagaunt Bale' and actually a colleague of (Elah) Nydra, before both of them got fucked over by Jergal and she ran away to her mother Selune (I am only taking this lore with a grain of salt, though).

The Bright Nydra version:

'Legends claim that Bright Nydra is the daughter of Selune and Shaundakul, who fell to Faerun from the trailing lights of the moon (known as the Tears of Selune) in the form of a falling star on a midwinter night a millennium ago. Although this may well have been true long ago, today she is but an aspect of Selune, Lady of Silver and goddess of the moon... Drover tales relate her relentless battles with an evil being known as Bale (Bhaal), whom she supposedly defeated and drove out of the Marshes during the Time of Troubles...' -Polyhedron 117, Forgotten Deities

The Elah Nydra version:

'Towards that end, the Lord of the End of Everything began identifying candidates among the most powerful of the Netherese archwizards that could serve as vessels for a portion of his deific power and act as his champions,... These individuals included the famed Ioulaum Halargoth, as well as names such as Alithar Chonis (said by some to be a descendant of the fabled Jeriah Chronos), Tharlagaunt Bale, and Elah Nydra... Elah nurtured her divine spark with the blessing of Selune and became the minor deity known as Bright Nydra to the Marsh Drovers of the Tunlands... relinquished her mantle of divinity and was wholly subumed by Selune prior to the raising of the Standing Stone. Tharlagaunt Bale became a feared assassin in and around the lands south of the Dragonmere ere he came together with two companions and sought his revenge on Jergal, rising to full-fleged godhood as the deity Bhaal in the centuries that followed the fall of Netheril.' -Lord of the End of Everything (alternate version, Realms Secreteriat)

Yeah. It's safe to say that Bhaal and Selune aren't dear friends.

And it's actually a surprise to me that he and Shar aren't allies. I know that Myrkul gets along with her (although he also gets along with Jergal, and I do wonder if he ever noticed Jergal and Shar getting somewhat frisky with each other (I would love to forget everything I know about Jergal's love life, but I can't)). Bane... I don't think Bane would survive Shar, honestly. I would pay money to see her make him cry, but I know that he has enough brains left to not start pissing her off (which is an actual surprise, cause he is constantly being a pain to everyone around him (everyone should thank Tempus for rocking his shit)).

But Bhaal and Shar should get along like a house on fire!

Every murder, inevitably, causes loss, and in ancient Netheril, Shar was a goddess of murder (also makes me wonder if mortal Bhaal ever offered her a prayer)! They also like disguises, infiltration, darkness, silence, sneaking around, seduction, stabbing people in the back, and many other things.

I also wanna add that they can bond over liking black and purple (Shadowheart is being mean when saying that Bhaal has no style! The temple we see in Bg3 is really more Larian's weird interpretation of a Bhaal that is utterly chaotic (I still haven't forgiven them for saying that he isn't subtle)).

Oh. Both Bhaal and Shar also have a habit of messing with memories (Sarevok, Durge, Vicionia... the list is endless). And they both hang out with Talona and Loviatar. Although, I suppose, Shar is not happy about the fact that Bhaal and her son/daughter Mask got along... and Hoar. Shar doesn't like Hoar either, and Bhaal does.

They probably aren't allies because neither can decide whom Talona actually serves, and because Bhaal keeps hanging out with Hoar and Mask. And I also like to imagine that they keep having debates over who is the most elegant out of them. Shar likes dancing, and Bhaal keeps talking about 'killing with deftness, elegance, speed and swiftness' (performing a dance of death). Yeah. Mortal Bhaal definitely visited a few of her temples in his time. That would explain so many of their similarities.

That being said, I wonder if I am allowed to say that Shar is another mother-goddess he pissed off (I will elaborate, just give me time).

I think most people are aware of the fact that Mask is said to be Shar's child (no one knows who the father is, but I am pointing the finger at Jergal). Mask and Shar... don't get along. Mainly because she believes that Mask's dominion over the shadows should be hers.

'Shar may attempt to consume Mask as well, for she nurses a cold anger for his dominion over shadow.'

Bane is probably also calling dibs on the shadow thing, but at least for now he still prefers to be Mask's ally (although after what Mask did with Cyric, I can't see him (or Bhaal, for that matter) being happy to see Mask... although Mask, at least as Godsbane, is surprisingly bloodthirsty... and they no longer get along with Cyric either. So that may check out).

Anyway, the part I actually wanted to bring to the table was what seems to be the lore-reason of why Shar is the way she is:

https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1411466580555350029

You definetly need to read this.

If this doesn't get changed by WotC anytime soon, then the reason Shar is the goddess of loss is because she once had a child (or, at least, something similar to a child) that she lost...

If that is so, and taking into account the whole 'Sisters of Light and Darkness' story, then it might very well be that Shar was the first being in the space of Abeir-Toril (or, possibly, the entire Realmspace) that ever experienced loss. If she was the first being to experience it, then it would make sense that the concept of loss was brought into existence by her, which also explains why she is the goddess of it.

Sadly, we don't know what exactly happened, as Ed already pointed out and whether or not that idea will even survive, but, for now at least, it is there.

And, after further investigation, it would actually explain so much.

Shar, in 'Sisters of Light and Darkness', has never been attributed with the concept of loss (as in 'getting stripped of something', and not as in 'being defeated').

Only with abscence/nothingness, darkness, and, after her clash with Selune and Chauntea, loneliness. But not loss. Here:

'This was the birth of the world and the heavens. After Lord Ao created Realmspace, there was a period of timeless nothingness, a misty realm of shadows before light and dark were separate entities. Within this dim chaos stalked 13 lords of shadow, the Shadevari - whether they came form elsewhere or are children of the shadow itself, none can say.

Eventually this primordial essence coalesced into twin beautiful goddesses who were yin and yang to each other; they were so close they thought of themselves as one being. The Two-Faced Goddess created the heavenly bodies of the crystal sphere and together infused them with life to form the Earthmother, Chauntea. (Although Chauntea has since contracted her essence to encompass only Abeir-Toril, in the beginning she embodied all matter in Realmspace.) This new universe was lit by the face of the silver-haired goddess, who called herself Selune, and darkened by the welcoming tresses of the raven-haired goddess, Shar, but no heat or fire existed within it.

Chauntea begged for warmth so that she could nurture life and living creatures upon the planets that were her body and limbs, and the two sisters-Who-Were-One become divided, as for the first time they were of two minds. Silvery Selune contested with her dark sister over whether or not to bring further life to the worlds. During this great conflagration, the gods of war, disease, murder, and death, among others, were created from residues of the deific battle. At one point during the battle, Selune seized the advantage and reached across time and space to a land of eternal fire. Fighting the pain of the blaze, which burned her sorely, she broke off a fragment of that ever-living flame and ignited one of the heavenly bodies so that it burned in the sky and warmed Chauntea.

Incensed, Shar redoubled her attack on her injured twin and began to snuff out all light and heat throughout the crystal sphere. Again Selune gave of herself and tore the divine essence of magic from her body, flinging it desperately at her sister in defense of life in the sphere. This essence entered Shar, ripped an equal portion of energy from her, and reformed behind her as the goddess of magic, known now as Mystra, but then as Mystryl. Though Mystryl was composed of both light and dark magic, she favored her first mother Selune initially, allowing the silver goddess to win an uneasy truce with her more powerful, dark twin. Consumed by bitterness at her defeat, Shar vowed eternal revenge.

The twin goddesses contested for eons as life struggled into existence on Toril and the other planets under Chauntea's watchful gaze. Shar remained powerful, but bitterly alone, while Selune waxed and waned in power, often drawing strength from her allied Daughters and sons and like-minded immigrant deities. Over time, Shar grew strong again, aided by the shadevari who preferred night to blinding light and who stalked the Realms seeking to meld light and dark into shadowy chaos once again. Shar's plot to reform the world after her own desires was undone when Azuth, the High One, formerly the greatest of all mortal spellcasters and now consort to Mystra (incarnate successor to Mystryl), found a way to imprison the shadevari in a pocket-sized crystal sphere located beyond the edges of the world by creating the illusion of a realm of shadows. The Lords of Shadow were drawn to investigate, and before they discovered the trick, Azuth imprisoned the shadevari with the Shadowstar, a key of shadows forged by Gond. The High Lord then hurled the key into the endless reaches of the cosmos allowing life to flourish on in Chauntea's loving hands.'

Some say Shar never wanted anything to exist at all and that she was spiteful and hateful from the very beginning, but that's simply not true.

Shar helped Selune create the 'crystal spheres' of the Realmspace and also helped bring life into them. It's specifically mentioned that they couldn't agree on whether or not further life should be allowed to exist.

Shar had always represented absence. She had always been the nothingness that was before Ao filled it. By helping Selune make the crystal spheres, by helping her make Chauntea, she had already helped her turn parts of the nothing into something that does exist. Shar did not clash with Selune out of hatred, envy, or bitterness, but because the 'nothingness' that she represented was already almost gone. When Selune made the sun, and with the help of others (mainly Chauntea) other planes, she, indirectly, "upset the balance". Now 'nothingness' and 'existing' were no longer equal, because Realmspace was filled more and more with things that were/existed.

I don't blame Selune or Chauntea for Shar's actions. They are still vile and unforgivable, but it puts her longing for absence into perspective. It's not born out of sheer sadism; it's the feeling of having been betrayed.

It's also said that Shar wants to reform the world, not to utterly destroy it (although there are conflicts in the lore itself about that paeticular goal/desire).

Shar also only started sniffing out 'all the light and heat' after the sun had been created.

I also find the following line wildly interesting if we keep in mind on how the sun came to be:

"I am neither. I am nothing. I am the empty room. The dreamless sleep. The shadow's shadow. There was no pain before my sister set the sun aflame. Now you exist to suffer..."

I may be reading too much into it... but the implications are there. Shar is said to be constantly grieving, to be bitter and alone... and she was separated from her sister completely after the sun was created (before it was set aflame, so to speak). Also, if you play a selunite cleric and make a prayer of reconciliation:

'Your heart aches faintly with an inexplicable feeling of loss.'

Logically speaking, a Selunite cleric who prays to Shar should know exactly why they suddenly feel like they lost something. Shar is, after all, the Lady of loss, and whenever a god touches you with their power, their essence is recognized:

'Father [Bhaal] claws into your heart and stops it for a single moment. As you begin to fear for your life, you know his love is close.'

'The blood in your veins beats to the rhythms of Eilistraee as the Dark Dancer's blessing strums you like a lyre.'

'Blessed by Tiamat, the flame of the Dragon Queen seems to roar in your breast like fire in a furnace. Let your enemies beware!'

'Walker, you are blessed by Mielikki, and even here among the stones of the city you smell the fragrance of the forest and feel moss beneath your feet.'

'That was because a sensation like a discordant scream stabbed into Szass Tam's mind, and it was so intense as to eclipse mere physical distress.' (Bane imbuing Szass Tam with knowledge (which he does by hitting him (how nice) but also by touching him with his divine essence)).

Bhaal is not inflicting the sensation of dying upon Durge out of cruelty (at least not in this version), but because he represents the process of dying in general. Of course, Durge will feel like they are in the middle of perishing if Bhaal touches them with his essence. Eilistras is a goddess associated with music, Tiamat with fire and chaos, Mielikki with the forests, and Bane with tyranny and domination (the loud shrills that drown out everything else and make themselves known by force).

A Selunite cleric should know this. They should be able to say that they feel like they lost something because Shar's essence touched them. But they don't. It's called inexplicable. And it's a peace offering made in the name of Selune... That just screams 'I feel betrayed and lost my sister, but I could never face this, and no one shall ever know (because I am constantly grieving and lashing out at everyone else for it (also: secrets))'.

Although we lack further lore on it, Shar did, apparently, have a child once that she lost (and Ed agreed on the matter that this was at least a reason for her constant grief (callback to the link I added)). I already said that this might very well be one of the reasons why she is associated with loss.

Anyway, back to Shar as a mother (I always have to think of Nocturnal from Elder Scrolls for some reason): I also wonder if Selune had anything to do with the loss of Shar's (supposed) child. May explain why she has a rite that specifically asks for children to find their way back home with only the light of the moon to follow (the same rite in which Shadowheart was taken from her parents).

But Shar displays a rather strange fixiation on being cslled a mother to begin with:

"Jenevelle is no more. She never left those dark woods - it was Shadowheart who emerged. This woman gave birth to you, but I made you. I am your Mother."

Then there is the whole thing of Shar's church being led by a 'Mother Superior', the fact rhat she calls her faithful her 'Children', the debacle with Mask (Lessinor being their true name (interesting that Shar gives them their real name instead of taking it) during 'The Twilight War' triology, Aylin's whole deal (the obsession with Selune's children), that in 'Mistress of the Night' superiors are also called 'Mother/Father Night', that Shar's followers specifically are supposed to take children away from their parents... also, I am pretty sure Shadowheart calls Shar her mother in Act 1 (in the sense of 'I am an orphan (also the implications of loss) and she raised me/made me who I am).

It could, of course, be a coincidence, but the amount of hints we get are getting suspicious.

Anyway, Shar as a mother who was consumed by grief after losing her child (and sister) is very fascinating to me. It also makes her relationship with her other (supposed) child (Mask) interesting. She does seem to treat them more coldly (which shouldn't be a surprise), but it also reminds me of how parents who lost their firstborn child treat their secondborn.

I dunno. Maybe I am being stupid and grasping at straws.

It shouldn't be that surprising that Bhaal considers Death a mercy... or at least a way to acknowledge that Durge did prove themselves worthy of being Chosen.

The children who genuinely manage to piss him off beyond measure and are found unworthy (and his own followers as well) usually always end up enslaved and/or mindbroken. The only reason Durge's enslavement in the bad ending is so unique is because Bhaal rips their mind completely apart (how dare his own living flesh/avatar/pureblooded child fail him so openly!).

I mean Sendai, Sarevok, Abazigal, Illesai, and Amelyssan all end up as slaves to Bhaal, even if only Amelyssan calls it out.

Player: "Why would Bhaal keep around one of his foes?"

Amelyssan: "Sarevok and the tainted faithful see it as an honor to serve Bhaal in death. He knows to me, it is a slave-sentence. The Lord of Murder did not take kindly to betrayal."

Which betrayal is she talking about? This one:

Amelyssan: "My name is Amelyssan the Blackhearted, High Matriarch and greatest Deathstalker of my Lord Murder's Bhaalist temple. 'Twas I who led all the chants in His holy name! 'Twas I who harboured his avatar when the Lord of Murder was cast down to walk amongst us in the Time of Troubles. To his greatest priestess did he come for succour!"

...

Bhaal: "To my most trusted Deathstalker did I entrust the secrets of my resurrection."

...

Amelyssan: "One of His priesthood needed to have access to the essence that would be collected from the Bhaalspawn… one of His priesthood would have to perform the necessary rites to give the dead Lord of Murder back that essence. And so great Lord Bhaal entrusted that duty to me. After His death, I alone retained access to His essence. And my power grew as each one of His mortal children died, their divinity returning to the source."

...

Bhaal: "And so you have betrayed me, Amelyssan the Blackhearted. The time draws nigh and yet you perform no rites!"

Amelyssan: "That is correct. Remain dust, my foolish god."

To summarize quickly: Amelyssan stole the essence of many Bhaalspawn during the Bhaalspawn Crisis and consumed it. In so doing ,she sought to usurp Bhaal and become the new God(dess) of Murder herself.

No wonder Bhaal is a paranoid idiot who wants to test Durge even though they never disobeyed him before (not being able to properly conduct yourself does not equal disobeying; it just means that you may need assistance). Even Nyalee (among others) tried to replace him (although more due to the fact that Bhaal's death drove them mad and not because they wanted to betray him (but, I suppose, Bhaal doesn't care about the reasoning):

"Once a great cleric of Bhaal was Nyalee! But then great Bhaal is dead, and Nyalee is forced to turn to the older arts to survive. Nyalee steals the spawn-child Yaga-Shura to raise in this temple did she. A new Lord of Murder did Nyalee hope to create!"

I mean Bane and Myrkul also stabbed him in the back and at least Myrkul's betrayal must have hurt:

"The assassins," Bane whispered through an evil smile. "The assassins have failed me time and again since the night of Arrival. They failed me in Spiderhaunt Woods, in Scardale, and now in Tantras. For this, all the assassins in the Realms must die to give me the power I need!".

The God of the Dead laughed. "You've become as mad as your assistant. The assassins are valuable to me."

"Are they?" Bane asked, arching one eyebrow. "Why?"

The God of the Dead frowned, and as he did, his cheekbones protruded through his decaying skin. "They provide my kingdom with souls. There is a pressing need-"

"Ah, yes… the Realm of the Dead," Bane said dryly. "Have you been there lately?" Tarana giggled.

Myrkul was silent for a moment. When he spoke, there was no trace of amusement in his rasping, hollow voice. "I have not come here to listen to you state the obvious. We are, of course, both barred from our kingdoms."

...

"If you feel so strongly about this matter, then I will help you to recover the tablet," Myrkul said, nodding slowly.

Bane tried to act confident. With a shrug, he noted, "I had no doubt that you would aid me."

"You had every doubt," Myrkul rasped harshly. "That is the only reason I chose to help you. I am pleased to note that you are no longer blindly stumbling into situations that you know nothing about." The God of the Dead paused and fixed Bane with an icy stare. "But there is one thing you must consider: You may not have my assistance the next time you need it, Lord Bane."

The God of Strife nodded, dismissing Myrkul's threat as so much pointless rhetoric. Then the Black Lord mocked a look of concern and noted, "Bhaal will not be pleased if you kill all his worshipers."

"I will deal with the Lord of Murder," Myrkul said, rubbing his hand across his decaying chin once more. "I will contact you when all is in readiness." The Lord of Bone's paused for a moment then added, "Have you given thought to what form you will use to hold the soul energy my spell will channel to you?"

Bane said nothing. Rage danced in Myrkul's eyes.'

Anyway, back to Bhaal turning those that he finds unworthy into slaves instead of straight out killing them:

Player: "Is that why you're here? Punishment for killing Bhaal's offspring?"

Illasera: "No. For not killing enough of them. Father Bhaal cares not for a child that squanders his gifts. Anyone who squanders his gifts, in fact..."

Abazigal: "All us wretched spectres, Bhaal's failures, are watching your rise with great anticipation."

Sarevok: "Even if I cannot defeat you, perhaps at last he will let me die."

And I mean Sarevok kinda hints at the fact that Death/utter annihilation (as Bhaal originally intended for Durge after being defied) really is a mercy; especially because Bhaal allows Durge to slip away into the Fugue Plane instead of just straight out dragging them back to Gehenna (which usually happens when a Bhaalspawn dies (if you are his child; you're fucked. Kelemvor will not judge you because you are Bhaals)/or at least wants to annihilate Durge completely instead of torturing them for all eternity (unless they loose the duel and prove themselves to weak).

Bhaal enslaving his children in life OR torturing them in his domain after their deaths is the usual fate Bhaalspawn suffer.

And Sarevok straight out tells us that Bhaal is not nice to those he drags into his domain, instead of making them slaves and reliving the moment of their death for every second:

Sarevok: "Do you think I learned some great secret there [Gehenna; Bhaal's domain]? The meaning of life, perhaps? Or some similar foolish notion?"

...

"My experiences? Suffering, tiefling… suffering you cannot fathom. Each level of pain worse than the first, each layer of torment bringing new tortures."

...

"Beneath the suffering is a constant fire. An incessant, horrible burning—the rage and fury of Bhaal searing my immortal soul. No! I will not relive the agony of that inferno for your amusement!"

Bhaal also has a habit of making sure that claiming the soul of his children is as agonizing for them as it can get:

Imoen: "All—all right, stop... I wasn't really serious..."

Sarevok: "How about the agony you felt as your soul was ripped from you? The despair at being left only with the cold voices of your tainted heart, discovering what was inside you all along? How about the hurt you keep deep down within, wondering if you weren't good enough for Gorion? Wondering why you're a Bhaalspawn? How about the loneliness... the unrequited longing you-"

So yeah. Bhaal attempting to completely destroy Durge's soul (as Jergal points out) instead of making a slave out of them (like he does when they prove themselves a failure (like Sarevok, Abazigal, etc.) or drag their soul into Gehenna to torture them) very much does say that he is being as reasonable as he can be:

‘Make all folk fear Bhaal. Let your killings be especially elegant, or grisly, or seem easy so that those observing them are awed or terrified. Tell folk that gold proffered to the church can make the Lord of Murder overlook them for today.

Murder is natural. Slaying is what all creatures in Faerûn do, daily if they can. At least daily, slay something living—and the Lord of Murder is most pleased if the victim is one of your own kind and as formidable as, or more powerful than, you. Kill with swift skill, not by torture, forced suicide, falls, or collisions. Do it personally, with ever-greater deftness and elegance, and teach others the skills and the delights of slaying.

‘Deathbringers are to slay with enough skill that witnesses are impressed. They are always to challenge those more powerful than themselves, the clergy of other deities being prize targets. Slay with pleasure, but never with anger. Be in exquisite control of yourself. Utter the name of Bhaal so the victim can hear it. Ideally, it should be the last word a victim hears.’

Durge being a living wreck and still managing to crawl all the way back to his temple, beating the shit out of others on the way there, only to then bludgeon Orin into the ground and prove your superiority through it does mean that Durge proved themselves worthy. They are not a failure, and Bhaal, in this instance, never calls them weak. Instead, he treats them with brutal honesty (which seems to be a habit of his, given that he displays honesty when speaking with someone he mildly respects/acknowledges as being strong/worthy):

And this one as well:

"Your life is mine. Accept your inheritance, or I will reclaim it."

Durge: "What happens if I refuse?"

Bhaal: "I will extinguish you."

Bhaal is no stranger to lies (as he clearly shows in Bg2), but he still chooses to be honest and even goes through with what he says: he tries to annihilate the soul/extinguish Durge completely. That's not something he is in the habit of doing.

Wow.

Durge really is his most special child, aren't they?

Although it's also worth acknowledging that Bhaal doesn't seem to like lying... he does it, and he excels in it, but he seems to have an agenda against it if Orin and Amelyssan are anything to judge him by:

"His throat spits lies, but my blades carve truth."

"The lies must be cut from your throat."

"Death without motive is truth."

There is also the fact that Bhaal, in general, is rather a taciturn man... which is probably one of the reasons he gets along better with Myrkul than Bane. Also, while Bhaal will lie in someone's face, in the grand scheme of things he is rather open about why he does what he does, and his followers seem to share this attribute at least a little bit:

'Murder is natural. Slaying is what all creatures in Faerûn do, daily if they can.' (He isn't wrong here, everyone needs to kill something in order to survive or does it without really thinking about it (swapping a fly, crushing ants when you walk, hunting for food, etc.)

"Life... is strength. This is not to be contested; it seems logical enough. You live; you affect your world. But is it what you need? You are... different... inside. This woman lives and has strength of a sort. She lost her parents to plague, her husband to war, but she persevered. Her farm has prospered, her name is respected, and her children are fed and safe. She lived as she thought she should...'

Somewhere else, he calls life 'pain', and him, indirectly, saying that strenght equals pain puts Orin believing that her own pain will make her more worthy of Bhaal into perspective. Also, him saying that this woman had strength because she, specifically, endured pain (and loss) also tells us why he allowed Durge to be tortured (Kressa) and also lets them suffer even after escaping the nautilod (the headaches, fainting, etc.): He literally believes it makes Durge stronger.

'...And now, she is dead. Her land will be divided, her children will move on, and she will be forgotten. She lived a "good" life, but she had no power. She was a slave to death. I wonder if you are destined to be forgotten. Will your life fade in the shadow of greater beings? You are born of murder, the very essence of that which takes life. You have power, if you wish it."

Bhaal believes that true power resides in the ability to wield death as a weapon. Durge slaying Orin proves that they understand this (Sarevok also hints at it: "...it's a lesson she will only learn in death.").

I would also like to add this:

'Talieth chuckled, a low throaty laugh with little kindness or humor in it. "Do you hate us so much, Lewan? You don't know us."

"I know you kill for profit."

"So do kings and khans," said Talieth. "You are too young to remember when Yamun Khahan's horde invaded the west. You think he killed all those thousands of people out of kindness? Kings kill by the thousands. They'll cloak it in glory or some righteous cause, but make no mistake. Profit is the oldest reason for killing, yet it's alive and well. None are better at it than kings. And in his own way, my father was a king."

Once again; the whole killing is natural thing is there. Also:

"My father learned that to survive-and later, to protect those he loved-required power. No matter how rich, powerful, and influential he became, he never forgot the hard lessons of his childhood. They… haunted him. And perhaps he was not as careful as he should have been in where he sought power. He became a devoted servant of Bhaal, and when his god died… I think that was the beginning of my father's madness."

Lewan thought that anyone who would willingly serve Bhaal was well on their way to madness already, but he held his tongue.'

The belief that the wielding of death is the only true/ultimate power is also reflected in what Bhaal tells Bane and Myrkul:

"I choose death...I can destroy your kingdom, Bane, by murdering your subjects, and I can starve your kingdom, Myrkul, by staying my hand."

Bhaal isn't lying here. He isn't wrong either. Part of his divine duty includes 'balancing them (Bane and Myrkul/life and death) upon a fine knives edge', as it is so elpquently put.

Talieth already points out that power is always aquired by eliminating your foes. Bane does the same, even if he does not directly say it (he does respect Bhaal):

"...you are the dagger that bled Myrkul's favoured. You are the thorns that prick at my sides... You do not stoke fear by reaping your own fields, but by burning your foe's (either making them dependable and/or starving them to death)."

So yeah. I see why Bhaal does spare Durge the fate of getting enslaved (unless they proof themselves weak/a slave to death by dying) or getting tortured in his domain (because he wants to destroy the soul completely).